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For the diversity of fishing the Lake Oroville complex on the Feather River is hard to beat.
Most of the angling pressure is focused on the main lake and on the Feather River below the dam in the Oroville Wildlife Area. The bass anglers have a huge lake with abundant spotted bass.
The steelhead, salmon, striper, shad and sturgeon anglers focus on the river as the various runs move in.
There are other waters in this system that are mostly fished by Oroville locals. As the water leaves the dam, it enters the Diversion Pool and flows about 5 miles down the original river channel to the Thermolito Diversion Dam. Here the flows that continue down the channel through the "Low Flow Section" are metered. The bulk of the flow is diverted into the North then South Thermolito Forebays and on to the Afterbay.
The purpose of the Afterbay is to provide a large shallow basin that allows the cold water drawn from the bottom of the lake to be warmed back up to what existed in the river prior to the dam. The cold water fishery extends all the way through this system upstream of the Afterbay. The Diversion Pool, this year, yielded a rainbow trout weighing more than 20 pounds. The discharge from the main lake caries a plentiful supply of pond smelt minnows that support some huge predator fish.
The Thermalito Forebay is a developed recreational park area that is regularly planted with trout from the hatchery. It is heavily used by families and casual fishermen who soak power bait from shore with quite a bit of success.
The Afterbay is a good bass fishery. Its fluctuating water level can turn shallow flats into mud fields or provide a foot of water over weedy shallows, perfect for top water bass baits. This past year, the DF&G had extra juvenile steelhead at the Feather River Hatchery and planted them in the Afterbay. There is cold water available year around in this complex and the steelhead growth rates were excellent.
During the warm weather months recreational boaters and skiers dominate the Afteraby. But as the fall rains drive the ski boats into winter hibernation the users are more likely to be duck hunters and fishermen.
Local angler John Kusanovich took his pontoon boat over last week. His comments after landing his first steelhead, centered around how hard these fish fight and how often they jump.
I have heard other reports and seen photos of these fish up to the 20-inch mark. These fish have been caught in the recent past fly fishing with wooly buggers and various nymphs. Boaters have done well trolling flies and hardware. The pond smelt that is so plentiful in the lake is also in the Thermalito complex.
There are not sufficient steelhead in the hatchery this winter to replant the Afterbay. So the current stock of steelhead is all we have. If you go, please limit your take. This is a finite resource for now.
Up on the main lake, the coho salmon plants have begun. There will be about 150,000 fish planted this fall. The two plant sites are Lime Saddle Marina and Bidwell. These fish are 7 to 9 inches and a nuisance to anglers targeting decent sized fish. I would recommend moving away from the launch sites before starting to fish.
Late next summer, the Feather River Hatchery will be closed for maintenance in August. Next year's coho plant numbers will be increased to 350,000. They will be planted at much smaller size, when the hatchery closes.
Bass fishing on the lake is fair. The lake is down 175 feet from its full pool. Another 25 foot drop is anticipated. Surface temps are 59 degrees with very little temperature change in the top 40 feet of the water column. The river has seen an increase in steelhead activity in recent weeks. There are even a few bright salmon being caught near Yuba City. There seems to be a late run of salmon making a showing.
For an comprehensive map of the Feather River, Lake Oroville and the Thermalito complex ask for "Cash Colby's Pro-Guide Map" at most tackle shops in Oroville. It does an excellent job showing launch ramps, depth contours and access points.
ooo
Denis Peirce writes a weekly fishing column for The Union and is host of "The KNCO Fishing & Outdoor Report," which airs 6-7 p.m. Fridays and 5-6 a.m. Saturdays on 830-AM radio. He may be reached via e-mail at denisp@theunion.com.
Most of the angling pressure is focused on the main lake and on the Feather River below the dam in the Oroville Wildlife Area. The bass anglers have a huge lake with abundant spotted bass.
The steelhead, salmon, striper, shad and sturgeon anglers focus on the river as the various runs move in.
There are other waters in this system that are mostly fished by Oroville locals. As the water leaves the dam, it enters the Diversion Pool and flows about 5 miles down the original river channel to the Thermolito Diversion Dam. Here the flows that continue down the channel through the "Low Flow Section" are metered. The bulk of the flow is diverted into the North then South Thermolito Forebays and on to the Afterbay.
The purpose of the Afterbay is to provide a large shallow basin that allows the cold water drawn from the bottom of the lake to be warmed back up to what existed in the river prior to the dam. The cold water fishery extends all the way through this system upstream of the Afterbay. The Diversion Pool, this year, yielded a rainbow trout weighing more than 20 pounds. The discharge from the main lake caries a plentiful supply of pond smelt minnows that support some huge predator fish.
The Thermalito Forebay is a developed recreational park area that is regularly planted with trout from the hatchery. It is heavily used by families and casual fishermen who soak power bait from shore with quite a bit of success.
The Afterbay is a good bass fishery. Its fluctuating water level can turn shallow flats into mud fields or provide a foot of water over weedy shallows, perfect for top water bass baits. This past year, the DF&G had extra juvenile steelhead at the Feather River Hatchery and planted them in the Afterbay. There is cold water available year around in this complex and the steelhead growth rates were excellent.
During the warm weather months recreational boaters and skiers dominate the Afteraby. But as the fall rains drive the ski boats into winter hibernation the users are more likely to be duck hunters and fishermen.
Local angler John Kusanovich took his pontoon boat over last week. His comments after landing his first steelhead, centered around how hard these fish fight and how often they jump.
I have heard other reports and seen photos of these fish up to the 20-inch mark. These fish have been caught in the recent past fly fishing with wooly buggers and various nymphs. Boaters have done well trolling flies and hardware. The pond smelt that is so plentiful in the lake is also in the Thermalito complex.
There are not sufficient steelhead in the hatchery this winter to replant the Afterbay. So the current stock of steelhead is all we have. If you go, please limit your take. This is a finite resource for now.
Up on the main lake, the coho salmon plants have begun. There will be about 150,000 fish planted this fall. The two plant sites are Lime Saddle Marina and Bidwell. These fish are 7 to 9 inches and a nuisance to anglers targeting decent sized fish. I would recommend moving away from the launch sites before starting to fish.
Late next summer, the Feather River Hatchery will be closed for maintenance in August. Next year's coho plant numbers will be increased to 350,000. They will be planted at much smaller size, when the hatchery closes.
Bass fishing on the lake is fair. The lake is down 175 feet from its full pool. Another 25 foot drop is anticipated. Surface temps are 59 degrees with very little temperature change in the top 40 feet of the water column. The river has seen an increase in steelhead activity in recent weeks. There are even a few bright salmon being caught near Yuba City. There seems to be a late run of salmon making a showing.
For an comprehensive map of the Feather River, Lake Oroville and the Thermalito complex ask for "Cash Colby's Pro-Guide Map" at most tackle shops in Oroville. It does an excellent job showing launch ramps, depth contours and access points.
ooo
Denis Peirce writes a weekly fishing column for The Union and is host of "The KNCO Fishing & Outdoor Report," which airs 6-7 p.m. Fridays and 5-6 a.m. Saturdays on 830-AM radio. He may be reached via e-mail at denisp@theunion.com.
